Not Worthy To Be Compared

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.Romans 8:18 (NASB)

It is easiest to question the goodness of God when we experience pain. We ache for a different reality where our relationships thrive, where we can always feel the presence of God, and where natural disasters and tragedies are impossible. However, this verse points out that the difficult things we experience are meant to point us to the infinitely better joys of heaven, where life is exactly as it was always meant to be. What's coming is bigger and better than we can imagine. Not only will there be no more "death, mourning, crying, or pain" (Rev. 21:4), but even the greatest joys we can possibly experience will be fulfilled to their greatest extent. C.S. Lewis, the prominent author and theologian, said it like this:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (C.S. Lewis The Weight of Glory)

Even life's greatest joys cannot compare to the greater glory of eternity, let alone the suffering that marks our world. The God who makes eternity with him possible and desirable makes even the pain we experience now worth the wait for the sake of the glory that is to be revealed.